Chong Wei to grace Langkawi tourney

The world number one shuttler, Datuk Lee Chong Wei will be invited to grace the four-day Langkawi Geopark Anpacs Badminton Open Championship 2009 starting March 17.

Its competition chairman, Datuk Mansor Ismail said Chong Wei would be invited to attend the opening ceremony to enable his fans in Langkawi to meet him.

The championship is open to teams from Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and host Malaysia, Mansor told Bernama today.

He said it targeted 20 teams each in the men’s and women’s categories while national players since 2005 were not qualified to join the tournament.

The men’s team will have one veteran doubles with players aged above 40 while there is no veteran doubles in the women’s category, he added. He said men’s champions would walk away with RM3,000 and runners-up RM1,500 while women’s champions would receive RM1,000 and runners-up RM500.

The registration fee in the men’s category is RM300 while women’s category RM200.

The championship is jointly organised by the Langkawi Badminton Association, Langkawi Youth and Sports Office, Langkawi Development Authority and Langkawi Tourism Promotion Council. Apacs Sports Sdn Bhd is the main sponsor.

Registration can be made by calling Haso Naradass at 012-4950099, Salleh Awang (012-4722102) or Tan Poo Liong (012-4012282). The closing date is March 1.